Philosophy of Being and Knowledge

Philosophy of Consciousness

Dualism

Thus, the central question of the philosophy of consciousness concerns the nature of consciousness and its relationship to the material body. The most prevalent answer to this question is dualism. The term, derived from the Latin "duo" (two), signifies that adherents of dualism acknowledge the existence of two distinct substances: the conscious and the material. In modern philosophy, this position was articulated by René Descartes, who inaugurated the philosophy of consciousness. Descartes questioned how one might attain certain knowledge, striving to find knowledge so undeniable that it could serve as a foundation for further reasoning. Everything perceived through the senses, Descartes argued, is uncertain. One cannot be certain that what is perceived truly exists; a malevolent demon might be deceiving us. If doubt can be cast upon everything, the only indubitable fact is the existence of doubt itself. Therefore, doubt is certain and undoubtable knowledge. Doubt is thought, and hence, the existence of a thinking substance is indisputable. Descartes traditionally referred to this substance as the soul. All humans possess the concept of God within their minds. Since this concept cannot be derived from experience and is inherent in all people, it must be implanted in the mind by God Himself. Thus, Descartes reiterated the ontological argument for God's existence. Since God is good, He cannot deceive; if He created the material world, then the world must indeed exist. Hence, Descartes argued for the existence of two substances in the world: spiritual and bodily.

The characteristic of the body is its extension; the characteristic of the soul is consciousness. Having asserted the existence of body and consciousness as two distinct substances, Descartes and dualists faced the challenge of explaining how these substances interact and influence each other. For example, when a person touches a hot object and feels pain, they will later remember the experience and avoid similar situations. Thus, physical sensations are engraved in consciousness. Conversely, if a person seeks aesthetic pleasure (a conscious action), they might turn on music or pick up a book (a bodily action). The connection between body and consciousness is evident, and dualists needed to explain how consciousness affects the body and how the body affects consciousness, given that these are two separate substances. Dualists invested considerable effort in resolving this issue, leading to divergent views. Thus, while all dualists agree that body and consciousness are distinct substances, they differ in their explanations of how these substances interact. The main positions within dualism are:

• Interactionist Dualism: A position held by René Descartes, who argued that although body and consciousness are different substances, they causally interact with each other. Consciousness causes bodily actions, and the body causes mental actions. This interaction is due to the essence of both substances, as they were created by God to influence each other.
• Psychophysical Dualism: This concept posits that consciousness and body are two parallel realms that do not affect each other. While interactionists see a causal relationship between consciousness and body, psychophysical dualists, such as Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, believe the connection is merely apparent.
• Occasionalism: A position similar to psychophysical dualism, expressed by Nicolas Malebranche. The term comes from the Latin "occasio" (occasion). Malebranche argued that not only do bodily actions not cause mental actions and mental actions not cause bodily actions, but also that bodily actions do not cause other bodily actions, and mental actions do not cause other mental actions. The only cause of all actions is God, who wills them to occur in a specific sequence. Since actions always occur in the same sequence, it appears to people that they are causally related.